For these words

This article displays in one automatically-generated column. View the full page to see article in its original form.

Our Paris Letter.

Paris, August 29th, 1890. PABISIAK ROMANCE. A Parisian romance, which finished rather nastily, has, during these l^ng summer days, been brought under the attention of the public. In these days of Parliamentary calm, and the absence of the " monde ou l'ou s'amuse," everything is good enough to be mentioned. EVen Le Temps, that most serious <Vf all serious newspapers, gives the following account, of it .-—Parisians may remember a female orchestra which proved a great attraction to a restaurant m the Champ de Mars during the Exhibition, lta conductor, a handsome girl who subsequently obtained a beauty prize, and whom we may here designate under the pseudonym of Lovoiska, drew around her a swarm of gallants of all ages and conditions. One of hw passionate wtanirw* showed the

u'tmosl; ■originality and discretion. He! declared liin sentiments m hi leix doux j signed simply "Victor," without any in-: dication regarding his identity or social statue. These letters were case into the pile of other amorous epistles daily received by post, and were pitilessly torn up by the fair musician. The mysterious Victor, after a few days., discovered an ingenious method of exciting her curioj sity : tho tender minives henceforth wore accompanied by splendid bouquets. Twice a week, moreover, they contained :i 50fr. bank-note, and the words, "1 give you this sum to drink my heiilth m a few .glasses of champagne with your charming artistes on condition that, you play the ' Mtii'suillnisß ' aud ' Les Volor.taives ' at 6 p.m. daily on the firing; of the gun from the Eiffel Tower. I shall be present incognito among your audience.!', These instructions'were strictly darried out. A month before the Exhibition closed ■ Lovoisk.i quitted the establishment for the purpose of taking well-earned rest. Victor's letters and the dispatch of his regular instalment of money immediately ceased, to the great regret of the" female musicians. . Shortly afterwards Lovoiska and her troupe appeared at a beauty show near Paris, and the Ce'le art'-ste carried oft' the prize. Victor resumed his attentions on the same conditions as before,' so that at 6 p.m. the audience enjoyed the performance of the " Marseillaise " and "Les Volontaires," as at thn Exhibition. When Victor finally made himself known the artistes were greatly disappointed with his personal appearance. He was short •' stature, was awkward looking, and waa, moreover, regarded as a sorry rote. The beautiful Lovoiska, however, touched by his generous devotion to her, met. him on several occasions m Paris. He informed her that he' had inherited 100,000fr., and would pay her the income of it twice a year. This was a mere romance. The princely Victor proved to be merely a tradesman's soil,!; who, on his arrest for forgery, confessed to having obtained 4000fr. by dishonest means. AN EXCELLENT LANDLORD. M. Behud, landlord of the house No. 3, Cite" Griset, Paris, is doing his best to combat the depopulation of France. He will only accept as tenants married couples with children, and erery time a birth takes place m his house, he presents the mother with 10 francs, a chicken, and a supply of coal for the winter. Moreover, M. Behud practises what he preaches, for he is the proud father of seventeen healthy children. CYCLONES IN FRANCE. During the last week France, or rather the whole of the Continent has been terrified by heavy winds and cyclones, but the ; injury done m the department of the I Jury is very great. Unfortunately the poorest communes have suffered tho most. In many places the sigTit ie heartrending. Entire villages have been 1 destroyed, the harvests dispersed and carried away "'by the tempest, cattle killed by'the fall of sheds, and the-pine trees m the beautiful forests completely ravaged. The inhabitants are without resources. The consequences of the terrible hurricane mnrt, therefore, be misery and ruin for a long time t« come l SIC TRANSIT, ETC. A body of police having recently had occasion to visit a lodging-house m tho Avenue Wogram, discovered a certain Marquis de B———, who had been one of the last pages, if not absolutely the . last, of Kins Charles X. The fate of this i Marquis is that of all those who made ■ their fortune m pleasures. He has fallen into themostabjectmisery, and frequented the lowest society, going so far as to receive charity from one of his old female cooks, who has been m the habit, of allowing him 20 francs a month "to live on." i A SINGULAR EXO. I M. Jean Daigney, acred sixty-eight, who lived at Suzennecourt (Hante Merne), has met with his death under singular circumstances. A large ape, presented to him by his son, a military veterinary surgeon, had been attached to a tree, j On the return of his new waster the! other night, the ape gambolled about him, and ■twisted the rope so tightly round the old man's neck that he strangled him. MARKIAOE .CUStOMS IN HOLLAND. A curious old custom still exists m many provinces m Holland. If a young man is m love with a girl, and, wishes to ask her hand m marriage, he goes about ifc m the following manner. He buys a small sweet cake, and wrapping it up m soft paper, prdceeds to the house of his inamorata ; Upon his arrival he is ushered into the midst of the family circle ; without a word he walks up to the young lady he wishes to make his wife and lays the cake oh the table before her. The rest of the family affect not to notice anything unusual,'and continue their work or their reading ; the young man turns aside and talks to the father or mother on some very ordinary subject, keeping his eye eagerly fixed on the girl's face while he is conversing. If she accepts his offer, she takes up the cake and eats it. -Sometime* she is coquettish, and tortures the young man by turning it dyer and playing with it, before she decides to bite, and then enraptures him by eating, |t to the last crumb. If, oil theiother hand, she wishes to have nothing more, to'do with her admirer, she quickly rewraps the cake m its covering,ancl puts it back on the table. In this case the young man takes up the cake* satisfied with his refusal, 'and a' 'Farewell everybody: I" leaves the house. The "matter is then kept a profound secret by the members of both families, and the outer world never hears of it. If, on the other hand, the affair progresses favourably, and the suitor is accepted, the father takes him on one side to ask about his business prospects, and if he can afford to take-his wife for a wedding journey up the Rhine, the ideal wedding trip of all Dutchmen* After the young couple be come engaged, unlike most continental nations, they have the same freedom as m England under similar circumstances, and, they are at liberty to break off the engagement for good reason.

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.